Calendar for January 7th, 2013

Handsel Monday

According to Scottish custom, the first Monday of the new year was the time to give children and servants a small gift, or handsel. Literally something given into the hands of someone else, the gift itself was less important than the good luck it signified. The handsel was popular as a new year's gift from the 14th to 19th centuries, but it also had a broader application to mark any new situation. It continues today in the form of a housewarming gift to someone moving into a new home.

Every Year

Orthodox Christmas

Distaff Day

1610s

1610: Major satellites of Jupiter first seen by Galileo

1610: Astronomer Galileo Galilei, armed with a primitive telescope, saw three "stars" near Jupiter. About a week later a fourth one appeared. Galileo had discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter. Today the moons are called Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto; they are known as the Galilean Satellites.

1710s

1714: First typewriter patent issued in England

Born 1718: Israel Putnam (American Revolutionary general)

1780s

1782: Bank of North America, first commercial bank chartered by Congress, opened, Philadelphia.

1784: D. Landreth Seed Co. in Philadelphia established

1785: Francois Blanchard and John Jefferies crossed the English Channel from Dover to Calais by hot-air ballon; the first crossing of the Channel by air

1789: The electors were chosen for the first U.S. presidential election. (George Washington was elected president on February 4.)

1800s

Born 1800: Millard Fillmore (13th U.S. president)

1860s

1890s

1894: In 1892, with $638, Thomas A. Edison constructed the first movie studio. His first film was made on this day in 1894. Entitled "Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze," it documents Edison employee Fred Ott while he is sneezing. This remains the earliest copyrighted film still in existence.

1896: Fannie Farmer published her first cookbook

1900s

Born 1903: Zora Neale Hurston (author)

1920s

Born 1922: Vincent Gardenia (actor)

1927: Transatlantic telephone service began between NY and London

Born 1928: William Peter Blatty (author)

1930s

Born 1930: Douglas Kiker (broadcast journalist)

Born 1936: Hunter Davies (author)

1940s

Died 1944: Lou Henry Hoover (U.S. First Lady)

Born 1945: Tony Conigliaro (baseball player)

Born 1948: Kenny Loggins (singer)

1950s

Born 1950: Erin Gray (actress)

Born 1957: Katie Couric (newscaster)

1960s

Born 1964: Nicolas Cage (actor)

1970s

1971: A U.S. court of appeals ordered a ban on the pesticide DDT until its effects on public health were studied

1972: Lewis Powell, and William Rehnquist are confirmed as US Supreme Court justices